Sly Cooper, Ape Escape and Killzone Could Return Through External Studios

As reported by Vandal, Sony Interactive Entertainment is said to be willing to open up some of its most beloved franchises to studios outside PlayStation so they can pitch new games. The list includes three names that will stir up nostalgia for anyone who grew up with a PS2 or PS3: Sly Cooper, Ape Escape and Killzone. Let's be clear from the start: there is no official announcement. This is a rumor that surfaced on the ResetEra forums from user thisiserfan, the same person who previously leaked details about God of War: Sons of Sparta.

Why does it matter? Because, if confirmed, it would mark a major shift in how PlayStation manages its legacy catalog. For years, many of these series have been sitting on the shelf while the company focused its resources on big-budget productions from its internal studios. Opening the door to licensing deals could mean more releases and more variety, but also the risk that the results won't live up to what these brands mean to the community.

What you need to know

• The series mentioned: Sly Cooper, Ape Escape and Killzone would be among the properties available for new projects.
• The working model: PlayStation Studios would provide the funding and handle publishing, while development would fall mainly to external teams.
• Internal oversight: in some cases, Sony's own studios could collaborate on or supervise the work.
• The source: a ResetEra user with a track record of accurate leaks. Sony has not confirmed anything.
• It fits with what we'd been hearing: this shift would explain recent rumors about the return of series that had been missing for a long time.

What changes and who it affects

The approach makes business sense. Sony keeps control of its brands, decides which pitches move forward and retains publishing, but doesn't need to pull its internal teams away from the projects they're already working on. For mid-sized studios with talent and something to prove, working on a recognizable property with PlayStation's backing is a huge opportunity. For Sony, it's a way to get value out of a catalog that, for all practical purposes, hadn't produced anything new in years.

For players, the impact depends heavily on which series we're talking about. Sly Cooper and Ape Escape are lighthearted platformers and adventure games, a genre that suits smaller, more creative teams well. Killzone is a different story: it's a shooter with a multiplayer component that once had its own competitive community, and that demands a very different level of investment, infrastructure and long-term support.

Killzone, the piece we care about most

From an esports team's perspective, Killzone is the franchise that raises the most questions. A well-planned return could offer an alternative within the PlayStation ecosystem in a genre dominated by just a few names. But it's also the series where an external team working on a tight budget is most likely to fall short: servers, weapon balance, anti-cheat and a steady content schedule can't be improvised. In this case, oversight from internal studios would be close to essential.

Our take

Here at Underworld Lordz, we're cautiously optimistic about the news. Sony no longer leaving these brands to gather dust is good news in itself: a franchise that isn't used is a franchise that slowly gets forgotten, and newer generations of players barely know Sly or the monkeys from Ape Escape. If licensing them to third parties is what it takes to bring them back, so be it.

That said, we won't settle for just anything. The industry has plenty of examples of beloved series that came back in the wrong hands, with shoestring budgets and no respect for what made them special. If Sony is going to put its name on these games as publisher, it should demand high standards and not just sign deals to fill out the release calendar. And in Killzone's case, if the goal is a multiplayer game with real ambitions, we need a genuine commitment to long-term support, not a launch that gets abandoned after a few months.

For content creators, the move is also interesting: comebacks like these spark conversation, nostalgia and a lot of hype, and that translates into views. But let's remember that, for now, this is all just a rumor. Until Sony says something official, it's best to stay calm and not count our chickens before they hatch.

What do you think?

Are you excited about Sony opening up its classic series to other studios, or are you worried they'll lose what made them great? If you could pick just one to return, would you go for Sly Cooper, Ape Escape or a Killzone with truly competitive multiplayer? Drop by the team chat or our Discord and tell us which series you'd like to see make a comeback.